Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-10-28

Curious Facts.

The population OF Great Britain ia
increasing at the rate OF 900 day.
Sumatra has flower which grows
to nine feet in circumference and
weighs fifteen pounds.
The eggs of single sturgeon,
counted by Frank Buckland, num-
bered 92l 600, and weighed forty-five
pounds.
A new locality of fossils has been
discovered on the borders of Braintree
and Quincy, Mass, which produces
well-preserved trilobites.
A movement is in progress in New
York for the erection of a crematory
wherein bodies may be incinerated by
electricity. The invention is the de-
vice of Sicilian.
Corliss, the great engine builder,
made no attempt at invention until he
was thirty-five years old. His first ef-
fort in this line WAS machine for
sewing shoes, which was u failure.
Marie Antoinette's favorite pearl
necklace, consisting of sixteen rows of
pearls formerly belonging to the crown
jewels of France, is now to be seen in
the shop of Berlin's chief jewellers.
1t has been estimated that pair of
wrens destroy at least 600 insects a
day. They have been observed to
leave their nests and return with in
sects from forty to sixty times an
hour.
William S. Miller, of Charleston, S.
c., has two immense iron shells, said
to be the first two shots fired at Bat
terry Wagner at the beginning of the
war. The shells were never exploded.
They weigh 200 pounds each.
At recent meeting of the London
Anthropological Institute, DIR. George
Harley sought to prove that the con-
ditions which have increased mans
comfort and stimulated his mental
faculties have lessened his vitality and
recuperative powers, making him more
liable to fatal injuries.
The monks of st. Bernard have
brought the telephone into their SER
vice of mercy. The famous hospice is
now in telephone communication
with the Cantine do PROF. and the
village of ST. Pierre, as also with the
Cantine dc Fontinte and the village of
st. Cheney OH the Italian side.
A Norwich, Ct., newspaper says
that in that city is man about five
feet eight inches tall, whose beard is so
long that when he stands erect it
reaches the floor and extends out
from his feet fully twenty inches.
The beard is six feet eight inches long,
and up to date is the longest known.
A big gas we'll at Fairmount, Ind,
caught fire, and all efforts to extin-
guish the Is foot flame were in vain
until three boys succeeded. They
placed section of stovepipe over the
well, and then suddenly bent it over,
diverting the flow of gas and cutting
off the flame, which was speedily
smOthered.
An exchange says: "Mules and
horses in the far West frequently die
of peculiar trouble. The beard of
wild oats or barley becomes fixed in
the animals jaw, and grows there, as
sisted by the tartar of the teeth. A
calcareous formation of this sort, oval |
in shape and weighing a pound was
recently taken from the mouth of an
Oregon horse.
1t is said that the table upon which |
Gems. Grant and Lee signed the ia
nous paper at Appomattox Court
House, which virtually terminated the |
rebellion, is now owned by Mr.. Gun-
ther, of Chicago, who paid 1000 for
it. The original owner was the widow |
of MajOr-Gen. Ord. An autograph let |
ter from Gen. Grant is said to establish |
its identity.
According to London paper of a
recent date, a noted doctor of that |
city enlarges upon his successful
treatment of cancerous tumor with
calcium carbonate in the form of |
calcined oyster shells. Two cases are
cited in which speedy and permanent
cures by the above specific have been
effected. The mode of administra-
ton is few grains day, taken in
warm water or tea.
A series of experiments recently
made by French metallurgist are
stated to have proved that steel loses
weight by rust about twice as rapidly
as cast iron when exposed to moist air.
Acidulated water was found to dis
solve cast iron much more rapidly
than steel. This would indicate that
steel bridges are less affected by the
acids contained in the smoke of loco
motives than iron ones.